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carmenized-onions · 2 months ago

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review

chip is the biggest fourth wall breaker and i love it for her - time is definitely linear 100% we didn’t just read a tenet vibe flashback forward around and sideways episode that isn’t what happened?

her and carmy are so skinny not breaking the counter

any shoes left undropped? oh how i love your continued motifs

BEFORE YOU KNEW ME YOU CALLED ME CARMY???? completely and utterly feral. she found him charming!!! teehee. she is such a tumblr girl #parasocialrelationshipvibes

she found him charming teehee

chip is simultaneously the second most awkward and the least awkward and carmy is consistently the most awkward

okay the car incident was a month ago, good to know because the fever dreams are ongoing

promised to ask you out (when he’s mentally stable) LOL WHENS THAT HAPPENING

god you are so good at talking about throats i never knew that the feeling of someone’s throat could make me feel emotions

HE IS A MORON oh my god but he isn’t a bad guy (tumblr needs to see this after their comments on season 3 carmy)

carmy i beg do the fucking work i need you two to have sex now x

i love the way i can’t exactly tell who’s thoughts these are/ the respective it’s being written from - like some lines are so chip then some are so carmy and some are also giving me michael vibes (could be completely off parr with this and you didn’t intend for me to read into it this much).

for example

- [ ] “you squint like he’s a moron” is so chip, but then the “he is” is so mikey

- [ ] and then the “of course you want him to change” is so carmy and the “he sucks” is so mikey

stop thinking about food carmy oml wrap it up,

oh carmy you could definitely be better but

NO CHIP YOU COULD NOT BE BETTER NEVER ACCEPT DEFEAT “insert rodrick saying deny deny deny”

jk chip is a flawed character but also so likeable and that’s why we love her

the peoples princess did go hard to be fair this is so random but my ex boyfriend always said i was a fixer like chip but he never called me the peoples princess and the reason why is insane… HE DIDNT KNOW WHO PRINCESS DIANA WAS. bear in mind this boy was a fucking genius, going to one of the hardest degrees at a very good school and we are both british how in hell do you not know who princess diana is you fucking weirdo

i knew he was a making a dish in his head, and what does he do, go and prove me right and make a dish in his head

ITS EASIER TO MAKE THINGS WHEN THEY ARE FOR YOU,,,,, ABOUT YOU WTF

me with a chronic nail biting problem and a therapist 👁️👄👁️

you are both little morons i need richie (ideally mikey but that’s obvs no possible) to come and tell you this

finally they are back in sync

this proving yourself thing is kind of crazy but it’s also carmen so EVENTUALLY THANK GOD

it is definitely weird to have the same therapist

the cat analogy is so good i feel it in my bones

i would say i love you tbf, too soon but she was MIKEYS PICK

such a cat response

i’m glad we have reaffirmed that she will still work there because i need to see this happen

with you??? wtf do you mean you two need labels istg

he has receipts like idk what to tell you it’s fucking carmy and when it comes to chip he’s finna be in the pit (be prepared)

my reaction to carmy v fields…. oh yeah:

- THIS IS TOO GOOD WTAF

- i needed this. i needed this so fucking much

- WALK HIM LIKE A FUCKING DOG

- THIS WAS ON THE FUCKING ROADTRIP - GOD I WISH I WAS THERE RVEN FUCKING MORE WYG

-GOD YOU ARE SO FUCKING CHEKHOVS GUN

- i was chilling with dirty details and NOW ITS THIS YOU ARE AMAZING

- head of the head of the head IN THEIR HEADS

- PROZAC RIDDLED FUCKS LIKE ME… are you actually on prozac… no?

- WHY IS FAK BERE?? GO FUCKING HOME

- best friend FAK? we will talk about best friend fak later

- i love this website commentary- i had to make a website once and it was the worst experience of my life

- of course chip would learn web design

- GET HIM CARMEN FUCKINF GET HIS ASSSSSS

- WE DONT PLAY IN CHICAGO (this is so my city vs london in the uk)

- ROAD TRIP SQUAD OH MY FUCKING GOD

- i was wondering what he meant by dusty and dead… i get it now

- tip your servers and don’t ask for their numbers

- one thing richie believes is fuck the feds (even the paramedics)

*deep breath*,,, moving on

they need to kiss rn like they just do while he imagines food she imagines drinks. i would say i love you? so just fucking say it AND FUCKING KISS ALREADY

your writing, like it really is fucking amazing

oh my god

THEY KISSED TEEHEE TEHEE I AM LITERALLY KICKING MY FEET

i love the bear fandom all uniting on the fact that carmy likes having his hair pulled. like there is one consistency across all fanfictions and it is that carmy will whine when someone pulls on his hair

*chekovs gunshot* she gets headaches when she smokes, she likes the taste of his mouth, he wants to fly her to paris. these were all in one sentence YOU ARE TOO GOOD

“I want you to be permanent and carved in my tables and I want you to wear my jackets and I want you in my kitchen and in my menu and in every dumb fucking conversation I have at Christmas tellin’ family what the fuck I’m doing— I want you in every sentence.”

i’m going to do a full analysis on this… this is fucking literature i don’t know what else to say.

FAK GO AWAY I WANT THEM TO FUCK COME ON DUDE

another thing consistently in the best fanfic. carmen is a biter

the mood is not dead FUCK ALREADY

i was so worried the vibe ending would be the end of the chapter and i would have cried THANKYOU FOR WRITING SO MUCH I LOVE YOU AND YOUR RIDICULOUS WORD COUNTS

SYD IS HER OLD CAT, this is why her and carmy are so good as coworkers

you are genuinely unbelievable

“get your weird little hands off my chip you perv “they’re not weird little hands” “why is that what you dispute” they are children

i don’t feel that i can really say anything on how you wrote the scene of richie and chip after because it cannot suffice in saying how good you are at this

go away dee dee i just got a smudge of happiness

oh sugar how i’ve missed you

the. first. christmas. without. mikey.

only the girls who babysat get chip

fucking rich boy carmy thinks he’s bad now he got payed. OKG I SAID THIS BEDORE I RVEN READ THE CHARMIN LINE WE ARE THE SAME (jk you are better than me)

he wants her soooo bad

OH MY GOD. she is making him watch ratatouille. carmen you literally are a weird rat . like you are THE WEIRD RAT

of course she’s a makeup cleansing balm user that is my queen bitch. also she wants to wear converse she’s so cringe i love her

he wants her on his team!?!!

aw he’s thinking a normal carmy amount like he’s helping her plan outfits and he’s ensuring they include her accent colour so say yes to being on his team pls

yeah carmy wants the apron to be easy to take off too LOL

richie the certified on god boy

you are the queen of stupid and meaningless (not stupid at all) stuff that is actually very meaningful

he is so big brother energy (richie)

the younger siblings taking turns to sit in the console i love this it is so real

they say they’ll be happy about it but they’ll curse you behind your back

you recognise all of it. it’s nearly enough to make you cry. - ouch

HE RAN INTO MY KNIFE. HE RAN INTO MY KNIFE 10 TIMES

AND DONE

this chapter was the emotional relief i needed fuck

YOU ALREADY KNOW WHAT FUCKING TIME IT IS!!!!!!!

sometimes. we simply need a reminder that time is linear LMAO. listen. is it fourth wall breaking or just dissasocciation? Maybe both. Maybe it's mabelliyne.

NOT SKINNY LMAOOO as a plus size girl, I truly was considering writing in somewhere a moment of Chip awkwardly having to crawl up on the counter (how do people do just jump on the thing? i do not have that power)

I fear I'll never let go of my shoe motif. I fear I'll actually never let it drop.

Parasocial Chip my beloved,,, man I gotta write blurbs of her in her crush era when she didn't know Carm yet. SOMEONE REQUEST IT How are you NOT supposed to find this Denmark Virgin with a LOT of jean jackets hot??!?!?! he's charming!!! also you're BOTH losing at the not-awkward-lympics.

i truly have to reastablish the timeline by saying 'month ago' because if i dont i will truly forget where we are in time. i'm almost certain i've gotten dates wrong anyways. it's fine, the revisions will fix it alright it's fine.

THANK YOU I TRY TO TALK ABOUT THROATS IN A FUN WAY. I guess honestly I feel emotional in my throat, when I get emotional. Like. If I get mad or sad or guilty, it sort of closes up a bit? Feels hollow? And did I assume everyone's throat does that? yeah possibly. but it worked out.

i do NOT engage in da tumblr discourse much, esp when it comes to hating characters in general, but I hope everyone has eased up on my boy since taking a step back. Man is going through a lot. I also just think like man, I have certainly not been the most cognizant of other's needs when I'm in a stage or high stress fight or flight--- And certainly if those needs aren't made clear--- dog, I'm doublin down!!! that's truly the biggest difference I think with CK and The Bear diverging--- We communicate in dis house.

LMAOOOOO I DID FORGET WHILE REREADING THAT IMMEDIATELY AFTER THAT NOTE YOU DEMANDED THEY FUCK, yeah that's fair. I keep thinking it's gonna happen and pushing it honestly. these assholes are gonna get married before they get down with it, good lord. someone get them a room that isn't a bathroom.

also this Mikey thing. with the thoughts. was honestly so mindblowing. I know that's weird because I'm the writer, but I see what you're saying completely!! I've always had this weird style of like, second persion omniscient where it's Chip but sometimes I move in terms of the stream of consciousness to being her or someone else or no one; and the idea of that stream of consciousness being by in part, Mikey?? OHHHHH OHHHHHH BABBYYYY Totally puts so much stuff in a different context and I love it. canon it. canon it. i didn't come up with it but canon it.

DENY !! DENY!! CHIP THAT'S NOT YOU IN THE PHOTO!! I'm so glad people think chip is flawed. I know that's literally insane to say but I've had this horrific habit of categorizing flaws in my head as 'good flaws' and 'bad flaws', and 'good flaws' are the ones that make everyone elses life better and your life worse.

so.

need to seek a therapist about that a little bit. C

INSANE TO BE ALIVE LET ALONE BRITISH AND NOT KNOW WHO LADY DI IS???? but yknow what home boy probably wouldn't even be creative enough to say 'peoples' princess' as a diss. carmen/me ate with that.

when is this fucker not cooking. it's like that scene in Tick Tick Boom but romantic and NOT sad and bad. IT'S NICE TO BE THE ARTIST AND ARTIST AND MUSE AND MUSE ALRIGHT it's frankly my ideal relationship

bro i RIP my free edge of my nails off all the time when they get too long, and pick at my cuticle skin. I feel you. I dont have a therapist just yet but I feel you.

If Mikey was still alive to see his OTP happen, I truly don't know how he'd react. I think he'd be losing his mind in silence. Like has to put his fist in his mouth so he doesn't scream and ruin it.

I'm so glad the cat analogy was good, while writing it I was like "i wonder if this is anything" i'm glad it's something.

Fields v Berzatto was fun to write. It's what I think, if he was hyped up enough, what Carmen would do after having that S3 Finale talk with Fields. Like very much so when you leave an interaction and you're at home hours later like FUCK. i could've said this and this and this and this. And this is his moment to do so!!

Website talk truly comes from me having to make my own portfolio 3 separate times. I hated it. No one ever make me update my shit again.

I AM chekov's gun, but also it's just plot. i think we're just talking about plot progression LMAO

FELLAS IS IT CRAZY TO TELL SOMEONE YOU LOVE THEM BEFORE YOU'VE EVEN BEEN DATING FELLAS? FELLAS ANSWER ME. FELLAS.

the "i'm going to do a full analysis... i don't know what to say" made me laugh so fucking hard. continuing on. NEIL 'COCKBLOCK' FAK EVERYONE, thank you neil for once again saving me from having to write intimacy, you're my hero

man if i need to end at 20 chapters like i'm goaling to, THESE CHAPTERS NEED TO BE LONGGG I HAVE TO GIVE SO MUCH. so. this pattern of ridiculous word counts continues.

the two cats!! feline gang. get your PAWS off MY CHIP!!!

Can I just. so briefly touch on. I know my timeline is off in CK, because I think it's May/March 2023 in S3? Can't remember. It was dated in episode 2. But like. I am so mad about this. Because that means they skipped/didn't acknowledge:

November 15th, Mikey's birthday, first one without him. (Which, fun fact, and incidental, timeline wise in CK, this would probably be the day Carmen/Chip met since it's mid-late December for them?)

The First Christmas Without Mikey.

AND February 22nd, his Death Anniversary. are you fucking KIDDING ME? WE JUST SKIPPED ALL OF THIS IN THE RENO SKIPS? ARE YOU FUCKING JOSHING ME? THESE ARE SUCH INTEGRAL MOMENTS. NOW I HAVE TO MAKE EM UP MYSELF?!?!?! HELP ME OUT STORER PLEASE.

anyways. carmen thing's he's bad or wtv. too bad he's a weird rat.

i think carmen honestly loves dress up. like he owned so many jean jackets and jeans and also lived in denmark and New York. Like. he'd love to style Chip, truly. also wants her to be on his team and have an easily removable apron but that's neither here nor there.

I love stupid and meaningless that is deep with meaning!!! that's my memo baby that's my number!!

HE RAN INTO MY KNIFEEEEEE WATCH THE TAPES BACK HE KIND OF DID.

I would say more, but I HAVE to go put together chapter 15 and put it out for you. this is all to say thank you so much for your thoughts i remember reading them in the morning and gigglin and being late for work. good times. i always love to read your brain!!

#yapping #extensive yapping #ask #don't say it #thefreakingbear

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wrathbit · 3 months ago

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if spider man does lay eggs, is it just one human sized egg sack or does he lay 250 eggs in one sack like the cursed gods have intended? thor is curious

seeing that he’s technically a hybrid, we must consider some combination of both species with certain human limitations, considering the general form of his body and most of his internal organs have remained “human”. that being said, it’s more likely that he lays only a few eggs at a time and that they’d be on the small side. they’d remain in an egg sack, webbed and safe within his home — I would say around spring, too, as the breeding months are typically in the fall but the egg laying is after winter.

the truth of the matter is that we can only guess at the biology and perhaps test it out. not every spider-person is the same, either. this particular spider-man doesn’t have a uterus which makes egg-laying the more likely outcome, since he himself doesn’t need to be inseminated, just the eggs. experiments are in order . . .

#this is all speculation until a more firm hypothesis can be made…#the spider-person study guides are dreadfully inadequate at the present moment …#suggestive tw #spider-replies.

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zeciex · 1 year ago

Text

A Vow of Blood - 40

Warnings: This fic includes noncon, dubcon, manipulation, violence and inc3st. Tags will be added as the fic goes on. This is a dark!fic. 18+ only. Read at your own discretion. Please read the warnings before continuing.

Summary: “You will be trapped by the obligations of love and duty, unable to escape the web of expectations others have woven around you,“ the witch said….

Chapter 40: Trapped like a Fox

AO3 - Masterlist

The great hall outside the Throne Room was a magnificent spectacle of opulence and nobility, that Aemond was all too familiar with. The walls were adorned with rich tapestries, depicting the gods or a forest.

As Aemond ascended the stairs, heading towards the tiltyard, he couldn’t help but frown at the buzz of the nobility as they gathered to speak in individual groups. Lords and ladies, adorned in their finest silks and velvets, mingled and exchanged pleasantries. The soft murmur of conversations filled the air, punctuated by the occasional peal of laughter.

Halfway down the stairs, his eye caught Daenera, her graceful figure engaged in conversation with Lord Caswell and his daughter. A genuine smile graced her lips, adding a touch of warmth to her features. It had been three months since the wedding, and during that time, Aemond had been resolute in focusing on his training and scholarly pursuits, deliberately avoiding both the bride and the groom.

However, it seemed that his luck had finally run out. Boris Baratheon broke away from his wife and turned his attention towards the stairs, spotting Aemond’s presence. A determined glint entered Boris’s eyes, and he started to climb the stairs towards Aemond. Resigned to his fate, Aemond resumed his ascent, his jaw clenched in frustration.

“Aemond Targaryen,” Boris greeted with a booming voice, stepping directly into Aemond’s path and effectively halting his progress on the landing nestled between the stairs. Boris, a colossal figure, loomed over him, apparently oblivious to Aemond’s complete lack of interest in conversing with him.

“Finally, I’ve caught up with you!” Boris said, his loud and deep voice grating on Aemond’s patience. “We haven’t spoken since the wedding.”

Aemond held back a grimace, maintaining an air of composure even though his patience was running thin. He refrained from voicing his true sentiments; after all, there was no benefit in needlessly antagonizing the man. “You’ve certainly been occupied with your new wife, I presume.”

The image of Daenera in her nightgown had haunted him since the wedding.

“Indeed,” Boris agreed heartil, a grin forming and crinkling the corners of his eyes. His faze briefly flicked towards his wife, who remained engrossed in conversation with Lord Caswell. Aemond noted the tension in her brow, and she cast a glance towards Aemond and her husband.

“I have to extend my gratitude to you,” Boris continued, blissfully unaware of Aemond’s inner disdain. “Without your valuable advice, I might never have realized the need to rid my wife of the little runt Blackwood, let alone come up with the idea of dedicating the victory to Daenera.”

“Indeed,” Aemond responded, his tone utterly devoid of enthusiasm. In truth, the notion of Daenera marrying this man had never crossed his mind. All the had intended at the time was to ruin Daenera, take all her options away and drive her from King’s Landing.

“You should consider joining us for a hunt! My men and I are heading out in the morning,” Boris suggested enthusiastically, his heavy hand landing on Aemond’s shoulder, and he leaned into Aemond’s space with a lowered voice. “And usually in the evening we might visit the Street of Silk.”

Aemond fought to keep his lip from curling in disgust. “I would have thought such ventures would come to a halt after your marriage.”

Boris responded with a hearty laugh, a sound that resonated through the hall, bleeding with the otherwise elegant ambiance. “There are certain experiences I’d rather spare my wife from, at least for now. Daenera is delicate and reserved, like a precious flower, I must be careful not to bruise its petals.”

Aemond couldn’t help but marble at Boris’s obliviousness to the true nature of his wife.

“Decent and shy,” Aemond echoed, though his tone carried a hint of sarcasm. “Well, it’s always wise to tread carefully with delicate things, I suppose.”

“I hope that with time, she’ll open up to me,” Boris continued, the smile of his face insinuating. “Until then, I’ll enjoy the company of less delicate women.”

Aemond hummed flatly as a response.

“The hunt tomorrow, however, will not end in such a way, as my wife has agreed to join us,” Boris announced proudly. “But you are welcome anytime!”

“Husband,” Daenera murmured, stepping up beside Boris. She placed a gentle hand on his arm and exchanged a cautious glance between him and Aemond. Her eyes bore a sharp edge of apprehension, which she seemed to fight, consciously softening her eyes.

“My dear,” Boris acknowledged, releasing Aemond’s shoulder and taking Daenera’s hand instead. He kissed her knuckles, attempting to show affection. Daenera responded with a smile, though Aemond detected an undercurrent of disgust in her expression. She subtly withdrew her hand from his touch and turned her gaze back from Aemond to Boris. “I’ve invited your uncle to join us on the hunt.”

“Have you now?” Daenera replied, a subtle strain in her voice. “I’m sure Aemond has better things to tend to than joining us for a hunt.”

Her narrowed eyes sent a silent warning and threat in Aemond’s direction. He briefly contemplated agreeing just out of spite, but in the end, his self-preservation prevailed. He knew he would suffer in either company.

“Perhaps another time,” Aemond answered dryly, moving past the newlyweds and ascending the stairs. He felt her gaze upon him, felt her eyes burn holes into his back as he slipped through the doors and outside.

The day was bathed in a gentle, warm sunlight, a soft breeze carrying the earthy fragrance of the surrounding trees and damp soil. Daenera let her horse down the bath between the trees, and for a moment closed her eyes and tilted her head back towards the sky, savoring the simple pleasure of being outside of the city walls, even if it meant accompanying her husband and his hunting companions.

Boris’s boisterous laughter erupted like a thunderclap, shattering the tranquility Daenera found. She knew she shouldn’t resent him for finding joy, but it irked her nonetheless. The louder he laughed, the more apparent it became that he had indulged in wine.

It had been two months since the wedding, and in that time, Daenera had made every effort to adapt to her husband’s temperament. Boris was quick to laughter and even quicker to anger, and both emotions were amplified by the consumption of wine.

The advantage of Boris’s fondness for wine was that it made it easy for her to administer the various potions she had prepared. Some would leave him lethargic, unable to do anything but lie down, while others would have him rushing to the privy, afflicted with severe diarrhea. Sometimes, she simply made him too tired to engage in any amorous activity, ensuring he fell asleep before he could reach their chambers, assuming he would return home at all.

“You look contemplative,” Fenrick observed, riding alongside Daenera. “Thinking of ways to make him fall off his horse?”

A faint smile graced Daenera’s lips as she regarded her guard, who held her husband in as little regard as she did. “Now, why would I want that?”

“Because you’re petty,” Fenrick replied, his tone light, but then his expression turned somber, concern etching itself into the line of his brow. “And unhappy.”

“I am not unhappy,” Daenera countered after a pause, a subtle frown marking her features.

“You are not happy either,” Fenrick pointed out, cautiously overstepping his bounds. Daenera allowed him the liberty of continuing. “He does not treat you as he should. He brings shame upon himself with every night he spends at the whore house.”

“I prefer him to spend his night there rather than in my bed,” Daenera replied dryly.

“He is your husband,” Fenrick reminded her gently, his concern growing even more present upon his face.

“And?” Daenera’s voice took on a sharper edge, the tension in the air palpable and seeming to stick to her skin. “I think it’s safe to say that plenty of women would rather their husbands stay out of their marriage bed.”

A thought seemed to dawn on Fenrick and he quickly posed a question. “Does he hurt you?”

“ No .”

No, he hadn’t physically hurt her. But he had tried plenty of times to share the bed with her, and every time she had managed to extend her reprieve from his touch by slipping something into his wine. And when he woke up, she added a bit of something else into his wine as well.

It wouldn’t last, she knew. At some point, she would have to share her bed with him. But for now, she’d do whatever she could to avoid that duty, even if it meant resorting to such measures.

He hadn’t laid a hand on her, but rather than being sure he wouldn’t, Daenera had a sinking feeling that it was only a matter of time.

“No, he doesn’t hurt me,” Daenera reassured Fenrick. “We do what is required of us, nothing more.”

“You worry me, Princess,” Fenrick admitted as he looked upon her. The lines in his face seem to have deepened in a small amount of time, or perhaps she hadn’t noticed before.

“I know, but you mustn’t. I am fine, and I am trying .” Her eyes flickered back to her husband, following his broad back as he forced his horse into a canter, a young boy struggling to keep pace beside him, clutching his lord’s crossbow within his arms. She truly was making an effort, if not to love him, then at the very least like him. She wanted to be a good wife.

As they rode, something white moved at the edge of her peripheral vision. She instinctively pulled the reins of her horse, bringing it to a halt. Her eyes scanned the forest until they locked onto the snow-white fur of a stag, its majestic antlers crowning it the king of the woods. Never had she seen such a magnificent stag before. Its dark eyes seemed to regard her with an almost knowing gaze.

Fenrick, puzzled, halted his horse not far ahead of Daenera and turned his head to follow her line of sight. By instinct he reached for his bow.

“No,” Daenera stopped him, her voice filled with wonder and awe as she continued to gaze upon the stag.

The white stag tilted its head, its dark eyes addressing her with an almost unnerving familiarity.

Daenera couldn’t tear her eyes away from the creature. Her heart quickened, and a sense of foreboding settled in her stomach. She waved a hand urgently, silently urging the stag to flee. Go, quickly, before my stupid husband spots you . “Go! Shoo! Quickly!”

The stag turned its head but moved at a leisurely pace, seemingly oblivious to the impending danger. At least it was heading in the opposite direction of the hunting party. Daenera could only hope that it would remain gone.

“That was–” Fenrick began, but his words were drowned out by Boris’s booming voice, demanding Daenera to pick up the pace.

They advanced slowly through the dense woods, waiting for the footmen to return with news of any game they might have spotted. In the distance, the echoing barks of hounds could be heard, undoubtedly trailing a scent through the forest, dragging the poor footmen behind them. Daenera allowed herself to fall behind, keeping pace with Fenrick, while Boris and his entourage led the way.

Among Boris’s hunting party were Tarnis Cafferen, Camren Wylde, Derren Morrigen and Horden Penrose , all hailing from the Stormlands.

Suddenly, a yelp pierced the forest’s serenity, followed by a loud thud and subsequent squeals that rang through the air, punctuated by hearty, raucous laughter. Daenera exchanged a quick glance with Fenrick before urging her horse forward, quickening the pace. As they approached, they found the group of men gathered at the base of an imposing tree, pointing and laughing at a young boy who swung precariously back and forth, his face flushed with embarrassment.

A soft chuckle escaped Daenera’s lips as she watched the scene unfold. It appeared that the boy had unwittingly stepped into a snare, which had suspended him in mid-air with a noose tightly wrapped around his ankle. He struggled valiantly, spinning and swaying, but gravity was not on his side, and his efforts were in vain.

“You stupid boy,” Boris sneered when he noticed the crossbow beneath the squiers swinging form. “Do you know how much that is worth?”

Daenera’s brow furrowed.

“It is worth more than you could ever repay me!” Boris’s voice thundered through the woods, his anger palpable in the way the veins in his neck bulged, and his face turned flushed. “I should leave you here for the wolves as punishment.”

“Please, my lord!” The young squire’s voice trembled with fear, his face turning an even deeper shade of red with each passing moment. He spun in the air, unable to control the sway of the rope. A trickle of blood trickled from a small cut at the back of his head, where he had struck it against the ground during his fall.

Tarnish Cafferen retrieved the crossbow from the ground and handed it to Boris, who examined it with far more interest than he showed in assessing the injured boy’s condition. It was clear that his concern for the boy was minimal at best.

Daenera’s expression darkened, and she gracefully dismounted from her horse. “Cut him down.”

“Ah, Princess, let the lad dangle for a bit longer!” Derren Morrigen called out, raising his bow with a mischievous grin. The young squire, arms up in surrender, squirmed in fear and sobbing loudly.

“Let him hang there all night, my dear wife,” Boris retorted, trying to maintain an air of authority, although his annoyance still rang loud and clear. “It might instill the necessary awareness and wisdom required for hunting, and by morning, he won’t make the same mistake again.”

“Your ridicule alone should suffice to teach him that lesson,” Daenera answered, refusing to yield as she met her husband’s stern gaze. Boris grumbled under his breath, his frustration with her evident. Ignoring him, Daenera turned her attention to Camren Wylde, who was leaning against the tree to which the other end of the snare was attached.

Her gaze was sharp with authority, demanding him to take action. Camren glanced at Boris, who gave him a curt nod, before he shifted and unsheathed his dagger. With deft precision, he sliced through the rope holding the young squirt aloft.

The boy’s yelp once again pierced the air, and for a brief moment, he hung suspended in mid-air, a look of sheer terror etched on his face. Then, gravity claimed him, and he plummeted to the forest floor with a resound thud, eliciting a sickening pop as something gave way. As soon as the air rushed back into his lungs, he unleashed a howl of pain, rolling on the ground and clutching his injured arm.

“Quiet down, you’ll frighten away all the game, you craven boy!” Boris snapped, deftly reloading the crossbow, the previous bolt having been discharged upon impact with the ground and having struck a nearby tree trunk.

Daenera knelt by the young boy’s side, her eyes scanning his body for signs of injury. It appeared that the brunt of the fall had been absorbed by his shoulder, and her suspicions were confirmed when she gently probed the area. The shoulder wasn't broken, but it had undoubtedly been dislocated. The boy whimpered, tears streaming down his cheeks, and snot dribbled from his nose. He couldn’t be more than two-and-ten, and as Daenera applied a bit more pressure to his arm, he squirmed in agony, trying to evade her touch.

“Leave him,” Horden Penrose casually suggested, his tone lacking any form of concern.

“We’re not leaving him,” Daenera responded sharply, a surge of anger coursing through her at the callous suggestion.

“He’ll be fine,” Brois chimed in, his reassurance ringing hollow in Daenera’s ears as she keenly felt the extent of the young boy’s injury. The boy was in agonizing pain.

“He will not be fine,” Daenera stated firmly, her patiences running thin. “His shoulder has been dislocated.”

Camren Wylde, seated comfortably on his horse, chimed in nonchalantly, “I dislocated my shoulder a few years ago. It wasn’t that bad.”

Daenera shot him an exasperated look. “You were an adult then. This is a boy. And one tends to forget how bad the pain is. Otherwise, why would your mother suffer through giving birth to seven children before having you? Were I her, I would have stopped just short.”

The men roared with laughter, teasing Camren Wylde. Daenera brushed off the insult Camren threw her way and returned her attention to the injured lad. “I need to put it back into place. It will ease the pain.”

Gently, Daenera took the boy’s hand and grasped his injured shoulder, slowly maneuvering it to discern the proper angle for resetting it. The boy screamed in pain and squirmed in protest.

“You need to hold still,” she told him firmly. “Can you do that for me?”

The boy clenched his teeth, his face contouring in pain and resolve as Daenera pulled forcefully on his arm, expertly maneuvering the joint back into place. She felt the bone slide into its proper position, and the boy let out a relieved breath. With the ache and throb would persist, the worst of the pain would have subsided. Daenera wiped away the boy’s tears and offered him a gentle smile. “Feeling better?”

“Y-yes, my lady–princess,” the boy croaked, his sniffing gradually calming.

“Good.” Daenera assisted him to his feet, then turned him around to inspect the small cut on the back of his head. It clearly needed cleaning. She stood. “Give me your wineskin.”

“For what?”

Daenera turned to her husband, her expression stubborn and exasperated. “To clean the wound.”

“Using wine to clean a wound is blasphemous,” Camren Wylde chimed in, as if this was the most sacrilegious act imaginable. His companions laughed at the notion.

Reluctantly, Boris surrendered his precious wineskin to his wife. He watched as she uncorked it, brushed the boy’s hair out of the way, and poured some wine onto the wound to wash out the dirt.

Out of sheer spite, she poured more wine than strictly necessary onto the wound. The boy gasped in pain, his clenched teeth grinding as his hands balled into fists. She then turned the boy around to face her and offered him a sip from the wineskin. The boy’s eyes darted uncertainly between Daenera and Boris, torn about what to do. Ultimately, he declined the wine, a choice influenced by his lord's narrowed eye glare. It was lucky that Daenera had yet to doze the wine with anything.

“Fenrick,” Daenera said, straightening to her full height, “take the boy back to the Keep and ensure the Maesters examine him. He’ll need a sling for his arm and something to alleviate the pain and swelling, but I don’t think he’ll require any stitches.”

Daenera, with Fenrick’s assistance, lifted the boy onto his horse, positioning him in front of Fenrick.

“Are you sure?” Fenrick murmured, eyes flicking to Boris before landing back on Daenera.

“Yes,” she affirmed.

“My lady–princess,” the boy stammered, his cheeks ablaze with embarrassment, “thank you.”

Daenera smiled warmly at him. “You were brave today…”

Her words elicited laughter from the men around her, but she paid them no mind. Instead, she focused on the boy, whose cheeks flushed an even deeper shade of red.

“Patrick, my lady–princess,” he mumbled, his voice trembling slightly. “My name, that is.”

“Patrick,” Daenera said gently, “Fenrick will take you back to the Keep now.”

Fenrick guided his horse and started the journey back to the city with the injured boy, while Daenera settled onto her own steed.

“Will the boy recover?” Boris inquired, slowing his horse to a pace that allowed for conversation. Daenera scrutinized his expression, wondering if he genuinely cared, but it was clear he was merely putting on a front. His concern was not for the boy or his well-being but rather an attempt to regain some semblance of her respect.

“He will,” Daenera replied coolly. “However, he will need a period of rest for the joint to heal, and possibly even longer if he has sustained a concussion.”

“When I was a boy,” Boris began with an air of nostalgia, “we roughhoused a lot. No one ever held back. A little bump on the head wouldn’t have fazed us. He should be fine.”

That is because your skull is as thick as bricks , Daenera thought but settled on a firm insistence. “He still needs to rest.”

Boris dismissed her concern with a cavalier attitude. “He needs to toughen up. He won’t make much of a knight if he can’t handle a few scrapes and bruises.”

Daenera held back the sharp retort that came to her lips. It was more than a few bumps and bruises, but she chose not to argue. Instead, she asked him a pointed question: “Will you treat our children as harshly as you did him?”

Boris responded with a self-assured grin. “Our children will be stronger and more resilient, rest assured of that. Nothing good comes from coddling children.”

But Daenera knew that under Boris’s care, their children were more likely to wither than thrive, as she was. She’d make sure that his children would never take root at all.

A distant horn suddenly resounded through the forest, cutting through the peaceful ambiance, and was quickly followed by the loud barking of excited hounds and the enthusiastic shouts of men. The birds that had been perched in the trees took off in a flutter of wings, their alarmed chirps filling the air. Daenera’s horse, sensing the disturbance, began to fidget and paw at the ground nervously.

Boris, reacting swiftly, let out a thunderous yell and dug his heels forcefully into his horse’s sides, spurring it into a frenzied gallop as he charged forward, following the source of the commotion.

With her heart pounding with a mix of dread and anticipation, Daenera closed her eyes briefly, silently invoking the strength of any gods who might be listening, before she too urged her horse onward, chasing after her husband.

The noise of the barking hounds grew louder, their ferocious energy barely contained by their collars and the strength of the men who held their leashes. In the midst of the chaos, Daenera’s eyes fell upon the frenzied scene: a red-furred fox entangled in a net, its struggle futile against the ropes that bound it. Men, armed with bows and spears, encircled the trapped creature, their faces contorted with excitement and determination. The fox hissed and growled, emitting a low, guttural sound as it defiantly fought for its freedom.

“Would you look at that, Princess,” Camren Wylde jeered with a mocking grin, his eyes fixed on the trapped fox. “A fox.”

“I have eyes, Ser,” Daenera said dryly.

Tarnish Cafferen chimed in, with a smooth and assuming voice. “It might make a fine, if not a small addition to a cloak, I should think.”

Daenera couldn’t hide her disapproval. “Is this how you usually hunt, my lord husband? By cornering and trapping small animals?”

Boris, amused by her question, let out a hearty laugh. “My dear wife, that’s often how hunting goes. But in this case, the net and the entrapment serve a different purpose, for your benefit.”

Confusion furrowed her brow. “How so?”

With practiced ease, Boris dismounted his horse and extended a hand towards her, offering his assistance in dismounting. Daenera took his hand, but as they neared the hissing fox, a sense of unease washed over her. When Boris snapped his finers, she almost pulled her hand away. Her apprehension only grew as one of the footmen handed Boris his prized crossbow.

However, Boris wore a gentle smile as he motioned for her to step closer. She completed, finding herself dwarfed by his imposing stature, his strong arms enveloping her as he guided the crossbow into her grasp and helped her hold its weight as if it would be too much for her to hold on her own.

She swallowed as she felt Boris’s warm breath on her neck, causing the small hairs to tickle her skin.

“She cannot do it,” Derren Morrigen commenced loudly enough for everyone present to hear.

Boris turned and waved a dismissive hand at his friend, silencing their snickering. Their laughter seemed to itch under her skin.

“You watch right here,” Boris said, pointing at a small notch that provided an aiming point. “And you gently press this when you wish to release the bolt.”

His hand felt guided hers beneath the bow to the metal trigger. It felt cool against the skin of her fingers.

Daenera’s heart pounded in her chest, its rhythm resembling a trapped bird desperately yearning for the open sky, yet confined within an unyielding cage. She wished to pull the trigger and release the bolt, but not at the defenseless animal before her. It had been so easy to kill that man, to slide the dagger across his throat and watch as the blood spurted out. He had deserved it. This fox, however, did not. It was trapped, the same as she was.

A notion flickered within her, contemplating the idea of ending the animal’s life, a means to silence her companions’ jeering and reveal her own merciless nature. Perhaps it would be the surefire way to put an end to their mocking. Or perhaps, a crossbow bolt through their neck would.

Her hands involuntarily squeezed the trigger. The bolt was released with a snap, soaring through the air and embedding itself into the tree just above the fox.

Laughter and jeers erupted from the hunting party, prickling her skin and causing her cheeks to flush with embarrassment. She was the object of their amusement, at the mercy of their humiliation.

“Your kind heart should not trouble itself,” Boris chuckled, a remark that only fueled her frustration. “I never expected you to be a killer, my dear.”

If only he knew the extent of her familiarity with death – she had been involved in both hunting and, even more so, in ending lives. She knew how warm and sticky blood felt on the skin.

She forced a stiff smile, swallowing her pride and indignation. His constant belittling, and the way he undermined her at every turn, was becoming increasingly unbearable.

Summoning a strange sort of determination, Daenera suppressed the humiliation and spoke, her voice steady despite the rage that clawed at her throat, threatening to release and spill into the world. “My lord husband, I am indeed known for my gentle nature. It would bring me great pleasure if you were to release the fox.”

His brows knitted together, clearly caught off guard by her request and the sweetness in her tone. The notion seemed foreign to him, as if it had never crossed his mind before her suggestion. “Release it?”

Daenera carefully sculpted an earnest, innocent expression on her face and approached her husband, tenderly placing a hand on his arm. She played into the image of the feeble, kind-hearted woman they all seemed to believe her to be. “It is merely a small, young fox, not yet fully grown. I cannot bear to witness it suffer.”

“You are too soft of heart, my dear.”

She nodded, maintaining her wide-eyed gaze. “It has been such a delightful day. I implore you, please do not conclude it with an act of bloodshed.”

“But isn’t that why we embarked on this expedition,” Horden Penrose interjected. “To hunt.”

Boris let out an exasperated breath, his tough exterior softening under the influence of his compassionate wife’s plea. “Very well, release the fox.”

Camren Wylde couldn’t resist a playful jab at Boris. “Perhaps we should reconsider inviting the princess on our hunts. Otherwise, we might never catch anything.”

Boris retorted with a mock threat aimed at his friend. “Maybe we should chase you through the forest and skin you for your fur. We’ll see how swiftly you invite my lady wife to join then.”

Daenera knew she would promptly decline any such invitation.

“Thank you, my lord husband,” she said sweetly, rising on her toes to place a tender kiss on his bearded cheek.

As Boris’s friends continued their good-natured teasing, Daenera couldn’t help but notice an ominous shadow deeping the hue of his eyes, like gathering storm clouds warning of an impending tempest. Her heart skipped a beat; he despised being mocked and humiliated.

And she had done just that.

Daenera’s gaze shifted towards the net-covered fox. The creature cowered, its ears flattened against its head, teeth bared in a defensive hiss. Then, as the net was lifted, it bolted away. In that moment, she realized that if they had captured the white stag, no force would have prevented them from taking its life.

Daenera found some solace in the fact it had only been a fox.

And that it was now free.

#aemond targaryen #aemond x reader #hotd aemond #aemond fanfiction #house of the dragon #hotd #aemond one eye #aemond the kinslayer #aemond x oc #hotd fanfic #A Vow of Blood

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foundry-fabrications · 8 months ago

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Foundry Fabrications Has a New Home!

Hey folks! I am incredibly excited to announce the launch of something I’ve been working on the last couple of weeks: Foundry Fabrications now has a dedicated website!

For a long time, I’ve wanted a place away from Tumblr that I can call my own, where I can make all of my content easily accessible for everyone, and that can grow and change alongside me. A long time ago, I tried something like that, but it didn’t go well for a multitude of reason. Mistakes were made during that transition that I don’t intend to make again.

The new site will now be my main base of operations going forward, but I’m not going to outright abandon Tumblr like I did before, and Patreon isn’t going anywhere either. As some of you maybe saw, I have the new site set up to automatically send new posts here when I post them, so you’ll all still be kept in the loop should you decide to just stay here and not engage with it, which is totally understandable. And I still plan to check in every once in a while and make posts that are relevant to the platform should I need or want to, as well as respond to comments or questions when they happen.

Speaking of being kept in the loop, something the new site allows me to do is newsletters. Anyone who subscribes to it (which is free) will be notified by email when something new goes live. Eventually down the line I’d like to add more too it like TTRPG news or other content I want to shout out, stuff like that.

The site itself right now is nothing fancy, though I put a lot of work into making it as professional and user-friendly as I can. I’ve no experience in web design and a lot of it was existing templates I tweaked to suit my needs, as I do, so whether I accomplished that is up to y’all. The main goal was to make it easy to find a piece of content one might be looking for, or easily browse everything to see what I’ve made thus far, and that was easy do to with automatic categorization and a search function. It’s basic, but it works.

Because God has cursed me for my hubris and my work is never finished, I have a lot of plans for ways to upgrade the site with new features, various integrations, and ways to monetize my work. Gotta keep the lights and pay for the domain and service somehow. Initially, that means ads, but I’ll be looking into ways to remove them for regular supporters and I bet most of you use adblockers anyway, which I totally get, no judgement here.

That’s about all I have to say. I hope you all like the new site and I would love any feedback you have on it. Anyway, stay safe, don’t forget to love each other, and I’ll see you soon.

#updates #website #foundry fabrications

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thatpodcastkid · 7 months ago

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Magnus Archives Relisten 8, MAG 8 Burned Out

Mag 8 analysis! I have listened to this episode twice and am okay mentally.

Haha Burned Out. Get it like- Burned Out like- get it it's like- get it- because. Burned out

Facts: Statement of Ivo Lensik regarding his experiences during construction at 105 Hilltop Road. Statement given March 13, 2007.

Statement Notes: HILLTOP ROAD MENTION HILLTOP ROAD MENTION

I am mentally okay.

If you're not thinking about the meta or the entities in this episode, this is a haunted house. Not a superstructure or cursed land or living space, but a house possessed by what once lived within it. Raymond Fielding lived in this house, and then he died in it, and he is going to make this everybody else's problem. He has unfinished business, he has a message he is trying to send. The issue is, it's another 102 episodes before you hear it.

Entity Alignment: This episode has some obvious Desolation and Web elements, but I have what might be a hot take:

This episode features every entity.

This episode introduces us to the Web's ritual.

Hilltop Road was both Agnes' and Annabelle's childhood home, so it is inherently associated with the Desolation and the Web. Lensik fears that he is developing schizophrenia like his father, who studied fractals and describes a man with "all the bones are in his hands." This man is likely Michael, and this associates the episode with the Spiral. The incessant pursuit of an explanation for the fractals which ultimately leads to his death incorporates the Hunt. The tree bleeds as Lensik becomes blinded by his need to destroy it, depicting the Flesh and Slaughter respectively. The apple he discovers is full of spiders, but also rots on contact, bringing in the Corruption. The box he finds the apple in is Buried beneath the tree. Lensik says he avoids working at night or by himself because that is when the visions would occur, incorporating the Dark and the Lonely. When he first meets Raymond Fielding, he says he was "keeping one eye on this stranger," bringing in fear of the unknown and the Stranger. The house is haunted by the dead Raymond Fielding, incorporating the End. Throughout the piece, he describes a feeling of unease that he is being watched. This brings in the Eye.

The inherent flaw in my theory is, of course, I can't find a solid element of the Vast in this episode. A part of me felt that the use of Father Edwin Burroughs might count as God, which could be a seismic eldritch horror, but that's kind of a stretch. Still, this statement takes place 13 years before Cane finishes her ritual, so who knows what could have been brought in during that time.

Character Notes: Another little part of me wants Annie to be Annabelle Cane in disguise. Annie is described as a very old woman, and there's no evidence that Annabelle Cane can shapeshift or use mirages or anything like that, so there's no reason for me to think so and this is probably just another "Jonny Sims knows four names and one is his own" moment. But still, wouldn't that just be wild?

I found Ivo to be a really compelling character. He had a positive demeanor, an interesting backstory, and a very strong approach to dealing with the supernatural. Overall a cool guy and awesome character I would have liked to hear more from.

An exploration of young Agnes would be incredible too. When she was at Hilltop Road, did she already know she was "the messiah?" This stint in the halfway house raises questions about her timeline and the progression of The Lightless Flame's plans. Additionally, the neighbors report that the children began going missing after Agnes was brought in. I (want to) assume Agnes isn't killing them, so is it Raymond? Are Lightless Flame members taking them? Where do they go?

Agnes' death is such a visceral image. It's a brief paragraph at the end of the statement. It's one of Jon's "And yet..." moments, intended to leave you with just a little bit of fear when you unplug the headphones. But that connection to the tree, to her childhood home. It's a simple section of text, but so vivid and full of imagery and meaning.

When the statement ended, the only thought going through my head was, "Mean Jon! Mean mean Jon!" He was foul with this one. First he goes on a tangent about schizophrenia and head trauma being second only to drug use as a means of seeing ghosts, then he immediately roasts Gertrude's filing system again.

He loves to go off about Martin and Tim being incompetent compared to Sasha, but who found a history of the house's ownership? Who interviewed Anna Kasuma? Who found Agnes' death report? Ya bois.

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sincerely-sofie · 10 months ago

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One thing I will say is that saying you "disagree with the term queer" Is Not A Great Look, but that could easily be a me not getting the wording as intended thing - The above assumes you mean just, queer in general though it feels more like you might've meant in reference to yourself? (Which is entirely fine - I'm of the opinion that any given label should be opt-in to anyone who's genuine about it rather than mandatory.)

Really, the main important thing I appreciate is being able to accept others where they're at. Being able to just say "Yeah, sure, ok" and go along even if I don't personally understand is honestly one of my core beliefs* too, and with minimal disrespect it's nice seeing this from a Christian. The little I actually know suggests something worth looking into, and the notion of an eternal soul is something I find fairly agreeable (if not strictly the outcomes of that.) Then again, I'm someone whose personal experience with religion can be described as a tangled web of jokes that ran too long and accidentally became character traits, so, maybe not the best judge of anything here. Also, wow, this post got away from me quickly. Originally meant to just put in the first paragraph and call it good.

*I draw a hard line the second that personal belief starts meaning harm to others. Believe what you want about yourself, but anyone saying someone else needs to change their ways (bar the very beliefs this targets, primarily meaning bigotry/racists) because of a thing YOU feel a certain way about simply can't be tolerated.

Thanks for the critique! Looking back, I definitely should have written “disagree with the term queer FOR myself” (which was actually the original wording I drafted) rather than “disagree with the term queer myself”. I was trying to cut down on my wordiness as I edited my response, but I ended up just making it a confusing sentence to read. Curse my proofreading anxiety.

I'll try not to get into it too much here because it'd probably derail this entire response to your ask, but I've got a lot of mixed feelings with most labels, especially ones that were formerly derogatory terms. My church has worked hard to pivot from being called “Mormons” because among other (honestly more important) reasons, the term was basically used as a snide and condescending way to refer to my church, and it quickly became the default phrase for addressing us. The fact that members of my faith were basically referring to themselves with an insult as I grew up in the church never really sat well with me, even if we took pride in it. I'm super impressed by those who can take once-painful words and make them into badges of honor, but for me personally, it's a real emotional minefield. Hence, in part, why I don't agree with using the term queer for myself. It's a matter of preference and personal implications.

Agh, I really rambled on for a while there. I hope that made sense.

For your second paragraph— it's sad to me that so many people have had such disheartening experiences with Christians. I swear, most of us are loving people. There's just an unfortunate amount of very vocal bible-bashers who forget that God's greatest instructions to us were to love Him and love others.

If you're interested, there's a lot of resources on my church’s website if you'd like to learn more about what we believe (though there's no pressure from me to read up on it!) I just felt like I should share because we don't believe in a Hell where people burn for all eternity.

We believe in three different “kingdoms” that everyone will be sorted into, with interaction between them being possible so families and friends can visit each other if they end up divided. The least glorious kingdom (for lack of a better term) is still an absolutely amazing place, full of light and happiness. There is a sort of Hell called Outer Darkness that I guess anyone reading about could see it as a form of eternal punishment, but people choose to go there themselves— it's a form of willing separation from God that happens when people who have an absolutely perfect knowledge of the gospel still choose to go the opposite direction. It's not somewhere you go because you drank coffee or swore in life. That'd be ridiculous.

… I opened my mouth and a missionary came out. Oops.

Anyhoo, that last paragraph is a big deal, Anon! People need to be able to choose for themselves what they'll do in their lives— any forced change is not change at all, and the second you do harm to another person that isn't in the defense of yourself or others, you're in the wrong. As you can probably tell from my tangent above, I'm an advocate for missionary work, which could be seen as telling people they need to change their ways, but the type of missionary work I stand behind is the kind that invites people to learn more— never forces— and respects when they say no. Always honor agency is my motto. Invite, don't incite. That sort of thing.

Thanks again for the critique! I appreciate your willingness to send it in and share your thoughts. I'll add a link to this ask in my original post so that if anyone else is confused by my wording, they'll be able to see this and get some better information.

#I'm running on so little sleep right now #I hope this is even half coherent #Let me know if I wrote anything confusingly! I tried my best but.#My brain is not at optimum performance atm #sofie answers asks

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ranidspace · 1 year ago

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"I cant switch to firefox because..."

"It's too much effort to switch"

If you install firefox, it will ask if you want to import your browsing history, bookmarks, saved passwords*, and in a as of october of this year your extensions as well.

*dont use your browsers built in password manager. they're very much not as secure, even firefox's. read about passwords here

You can't import cookies for security reasons, but external tools can do that for you (try to avoid this. if you do have some data you need moved over, usually websites have their own "export data as file" option)

Everything else that you may need to fully complete the switch will come up naturally over time, the initial setup can be half an hour, or if you're happy with how it is at the start, less than 5 minutes.

"They don't support [website]"

Firefox is entirely up to date on current HTML, CSS, and Javascript standards. Theres a bunch of websites that compare all the features that firefox supports compared to chrome and stuff and they're often just, wrong? I've used some MANY of the features that firefox supposedly doesn't support. Plus they're constantly updating it for added support of new and old features. anything they refuse to add is due to security reasons, and nobody uses those features anyway.

In my experience i've never had to switch to chrome to avoid a website breaking. Sometimes it was because of an extension* but thats a very easy fix. Firefox has profiles built in and really good troubleshooting features.

*(stop using privacy badger/possum, please, it's built into firefox now, most of all privacy addons are completely useless because firefox already does it for you!!! ublock is safe tho i love u bbg)

If a site tells you "switch to chrome to see this site as intended" they're lying, and you can use a user agent switcher to trick them into thinking you're on chrome

"i need chrome for work or school"

i'd say 4 times out of 5 you don't, they say you have to use it but in reality it's just that they have better control over what you can do with it.

My high school had a shit ton of extensions automatically installed on chrome, including some shit that was literally spyware, it reported to teachers and staff all of your tabs you have open at any given time, and they could force shutoff tabs and force things open. They had absolutely no control or ability to monitor me when i switched to firefox, and there werent any problems that arose from it.

You can also just use chrome for school/work and use firefox for your personal web browser. separate your work life and personal life, you can do this with two different firefox profiles as well.

"I don't like change"

The only thing that's different about firefox in a day to day usage is the bar at the top, which is entirely customizable. Right click, customize toolbar, and you can mess around with it to make it the same layout as chrome. you can also get rid of those weird empty spaces to the left of the search bar they add by default for some reason. mozilla pls fix. You can further use themes to make it even look even more similar to chrome, I did that with my school profile to differentiate them.

When I switched, there wasn't anything I missed, I didn't have any of the "ugh i dont like how [blank] is in a different spot", or "ugh they dont have [this]". it just worked. It's a web browser, it works and does everything it needs to be. I didn't miss chrome at all, nothing felt different and the adjustment period to the new browser was LESS than what i felt when chrome updated the design in 2018.

"I have no reason to switch"

If you care about privacy at all (which you should), i could list hundreds of reasons why you should switch. Google removed "don't be evil" from their code of conduct for god sake lmao. Every new change they do is a ploy to get as much data from you and feed you as many ads as possible.

The dumping of Manifest V2/dynamic filtering not only makes most adblockers useless, it makes any sort of content blocking worse. Blocking trackers, malware, intrusive and annoying website features, these are things ublock does for you which chrome is doing its best to get you to stop doing. They want you to be exposed to predatory ads and malware so they can get more money.

If you have issues with ram usage and performance issues, firefox includes a lot of (lesser known) features to monitor RAM and CPU usage. While it seems as it may use more RAM, it automatically releases it when more ram is needed by other programs, effectively using less. It also uses much less ram in total in cases where there's 10+ tabs open.

Firefox can automatically block sites from auto-playing videos whenever you go on them

As mentioned firefox has so many more customization features than chrome, allowing you theme and move around everything to your hearts content

While on desktop, Chrome and Firefox are very close in functionality, on mobile, Firefox is working to add full extension support to mobile, it already has a small catalogue of extensions you can use, such as uBlock Origin. It has all of the desktop privacy features as well.

Firefox, only has about 3% of the market share. Other than that, chromium controls over 70% of all browsers, with apple controlling over 20%. The less people use firefox, the more control TWO companies have on the very act of using the internet. The Mozilla Foundation is a fully non-profit organization, with full ownership over the mozilla corporation, they don't have shareholders, and prioritize an open, safe, and private internet. Don't let them die.

"but what about..."

there's probably other reasons but the last of my advice:

you can have multiple browsers at once, install firefox and don't get rid of chrome. try firefox, see if there's anything you don't like, and try to fix it, and whenever you feel the need to, you can go back to the browser you already had.

#firefox #mozilla #mozilla firefox

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stereogeekspodcast · 5 months ago

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[Transcript] Season 4, Episode 8. We've Been Busy With... Nightwing, Lore Olympus, Madame Web, Godzilla Minus One, and more

The Stereo Geeks discuss the TV shows and films they've been watching, and the books they've been reading.

Listen to the episode on Spotify.

Mon: Hello and welcome to a new episode of Stereo Geeks. We’re doing things a little differently today. We’ll be discussing a bunch of stuff we’ve been watching, listening to and reading recently.

I’m Mon.

Ron: And I’m Ron.

Mon: Tom Taylor, Bruno Redondo, and a team of artists brought Dick Grayson/Nightwing back to himself in the Eisner Award-winning series, Nightwing Volumes 1-4. I’m behind on this series, but I intend to get back into it because of these four volumes.

There was a lot of controversy surrounding what happened to Dick Grayson in Batman #55 way back in 2018.

Ron: Was it that long ago?

Mon: Yeah, I’m still processing that.

I kept reading the Nightwing books after that, but those were a tough read. Dick wasn’t himself, so these new volumes were a welcome change.

Ron: I haven’t read the latest volumes. I barely got through the Ric Grayson nonsense. What’s our favourite pretty bird been up to?

Mon: Well, Dick is back as Nightwing, but he’s reeling from losing his memory and himself, and his home of Blüdhaven is worse off since his absence.

What I liked about this section of the series is that Dick returns and he wants to do so much more for his city than just punch bad guys. I like that the creators addressed the fact that Bruce Wayne could have done so much more with his money, and Dick is hoping to course correct in Blüdhaven.

The story had a lot of emotional beats, and the ones concerning Alfred got me in the feels. Who knew I’d get teary over Dick and Alfred’s relationship, but here we are. I do love how newer renditions of the Bat-universe comics really lean into the notion of them being a family who love and loathe each other, just like any other family. There’s so much love in the writing, it makes it such a joy to read these stories.

I loved the art and colours—for most of the volumes Redondo is leading the art team, so the character art is especially beautiful, giving the Bat-family distinct and gorgeous faces. Good art, especially art that flatters the characters I love, helps me become more invested in the story.

After eons of Dick being touted as the next big thing, he finally feels like he’s taking on that mantle. I believe he’s become a big deal in the DC Comics universe. I need to read more of the current stuff to know for sure.

Volumes 1-3 are particularly solid. 4 is a little more gruesome, so I didn’t like it that much. I also hate it when the art changes during a volume or a run. I know it happens, but it’s so frustrating, especially when you start off with the kind of art you love and then it changes. Sigh.

Highly recommend these volumes for Nightwing fans. I really hope what comes after is just as excellent.

Ron: Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe is a retelling of Greek mythology in Webtoon form, now available across several paperbacks as well.

Mon: Greek gods in Webtoon form. Tell me more!

Ron: It’s essentially about the romance between Persephone and Hades but pretty much every Greek god and goddess makes an appearance. The story started fairly small but expanded to encompass so much of the mythos. It was such a rich world and I found it a very immersive reading experience.

Smythe has been writing this series since 2018. I only started reading Lore Olympus during the pandemic and then I ended up taking a break from Webtoons for a long while. But I went back to it this year and I couldn’t stop reading. I ended up racing through to the end. I was a bit bereft when I’d come to the end of the 280 episodes.

The story is engaging but what captivated me at first was the art. I love the way Smythe uses colours to differentiate the characters and the different realms. There’s a lot of detail in her art that had me lingering on sections of the story. But she also uses colours to display emotions which I found very moving. Lore Olympus goes to some pretty dark places at times and I appreciated her putting content warnings for those episodes.

My only criticism was that the final volume both dragged and felt rushed. We had too many episodes that were stuck on one plot point and then the entire story was wrapped up in just two episodes. Having said that, 280 episodes is a massive commitment from a writer and artist. It was a riveting story and I loved the modern incarnations of the gods and goddesses. Highly recommended.

Mon: Wow, I’ll add it to my list.

Mon: Anyone who’s read Marvel comics is going to tell you that the What If…? series of books is the coolest part of being a comic reader. Alternate takes on what would have happened to our favourite characters are always fun to read. My guess is, Marvel, seeing that the What If…? animated show got some traction, decided to venture into new territory–YA What If…? novels. So we have Marvel: What If...Loki Was Worthy? by Madeleine Roux.

Look, I love Loki as much as the next person, and I’ll admit, at the start I was itching to get to the book whenever I was away from it. At one point, the book mentions a Marvel character who I’m fond of, and I got so excited I decided to ‘save’ the book and read it at my own pace.

Ron: Just for that cameo, I want to read this book now. Should I?

Mon: No. Taking a break was actually a dumb idea because this is a library book and it got snatched away. I’m back to reading it now, haven’t finished it yet, but the magic’s gone. I’m struggling to read this. The writing is so slow, the descriptions are overlong and unnecessary. They don’t just bring the pace to a halt, they grind it backward. I’m literally screaming in my head for the story to move forward, but nope, we need to describe every single room in this tiny trailer with the utmost detail.

And here’s the thing, I don’t hate descriptions. I used to love Thomas Hardy’s books, so I can’t complain about descriptions. But my issue is the descriptions are given more importance than what Loki goes through. I’m sorry, but I am way more interested in knowing how he coped with a certain live-changing event than his bloody lizard!

And don’t get me started on Tony Stark. Crikey–what is with the overly sentimental histrionics? And why are they three chapters long?

I’m halfway through, and I think things are picking up. At this point, I just want the book to be over. I don’t care if Loki was worthy, I just know I’m unworthy of this suffering.

Ron: Well, that takes us to more comics-related suffering. This is something I’ve been dying to talk about. The Krakoa-era of X-Men! I have so many thoughts and I don’t know if I’ll be able to cover it all but I’m going to try.

Ron: For the longest time, I just couldn’t find a way back into the X-Men comics. I found that so frustrating because they are our favourite comics team. But with the House of X/Powers of X series in 2019, I finally got a way in. We read that series for our comic book club and I stayed with it.

Mon: I never read past Hox/PoX, which we covered on this podcast, by the way. So I’m all ears.

Ron: At first, I really enjoyed the Krakoa comics. After decades of being despised, hunted, killed, just for being born different, the mutants had a safe home on Krakoa, the living island. I loved reading about the way they were setting up their lives, how Krakoa would give them whatever they needed to thrive. And the resurrection protocols ensured the mutants couldn’t die. The Five, consisting of Tempus, Proteus, Hope Summers, Elixir, and Egg, combined their mutant powers with Xavier to resurrect dead X-Men. All the mutants who lost their powers in House of M, or died on Genosha, they were all being brought back. That wasn’t all. Mutants had created a medicine that was going to help humans fight diseases. I was so enjoying reading about this mutant Utopia.

Mon: That sounds awesome. I love my X-Men being happy.

Ron: Not so fast. Things weren’t all that rosy on Krakoa. The Quiet Council, the governing body of the island, was made up of past villains with their own agendas, like Mr Sinister, Sebastian Shaw, and Apocalypse, who seemed to have turned over a new leaf at least. Cyclops and Jean were so annoyed with Xavier and Magneto keeping secrets from them that they both abandoned the Quiet Council. Xavier and Magneto also made Mystique’s life miserable; they put her on the council but refused to resurrect her wife, Destiny, for absolutely no good reason. Honestly, the internal politics of the Quiet Council were to die for. I loved the drama, the tension, the subterfuge. Who was betraying whom? Who had their own plan for world domination? Who knew who’s secrets. This is what had me picking up issue after issue.

Mon: Wait, so you liked that part?

Ron: Very much so! But alas, Marvel comics got in their own way. Instead of giving us these self-contained stories about mutant intrigue, Marvel introduced fantastical elements like the Arakki, an ancient mutant civilization to which Apocalypse belonged to.

Mon: The ruddy Arakki. How many times have I heard you complain about the Arakki?

Ron: I know I go on about it, but I cannot stress enough how much I despise the Arakki. The moment they appeared on the comic page, the mutants I wanted to read about went right out the window. Practically every single issue became focused on the Arakki. They were a warring race so we got plenty of mindless action and no character development. They didn’t want to fit in on Krakoa, so the mutants terraformed Mars and made it Arakko and the Arakki were still fighting. Worse, Storm and Magneto were appointed leaders of the Arakki so the entirety of their story in X-Men: Red was just them quelling fights between the Arakki. It was so boring!

Ron: And let me not start on Avalon and the Braddocks. I don’t know Betsy Braddock very well but her constant tussle with Saturnyne which went on and on and on made me dislike them both and all of Avalon so much. Betsy was in a group with Jubilee, Rogue, Gambit, and Rictor, all of them much more interesting than her. Yet every Excalibur book was about Betsy and only Betsy. I was so glad when she shattered into glass pieces but alas, she got better and even more insufferable.

Mon: Wow, that sounds… not great. A book featuring your favs Rogue and Gambit, and it’s about neither of them? I don’t know how you persevered.

Ron: I didn’t. I gave up on Excalibur when Rogue fell into a coma.

Mon: You have got to be kidding me.

Ron: Nope! However, I did get to hang out with some very cool characters on Krakoa. Mystique and Destiny, who was eventually resurrected behind Xavier’s back, haha, take that sucker. They were such an amazing couple. They were so conniving, so smart, so in love, I enjoyed every moment I got to read them. Laura Kinney got a few incredible story arcs. She and Synch, a mutant I’d never met before, had this incredible storyline of living many lives to fight a terrifying enemy. It was a sad ending for them but Synch has become one of my favourite mutants now. He’s got the ability to use any superpowers that he’s been near but because of his experiences, his powers are killing him. And yet, he keeps fighting to save mutantkind.

Mon: I’d really like to meet Synch one day in the comics.

Ron: Don’t hold your breath; he’s not slated for any new books.

Ron: There were lots of little moments that I enjoyed from Krakoa, as well. Scott, Jean, Logan, and Emma Frost becoming a happy quadrangle. Logan even lives on the Moon in the Summers home. Almost everyone getting their families back. Jean and Scott have Cable and Rachel. Logan has all his kids, Akihiro, Laura, Gabby. Krakoa was very queer-friendly. Lots of the lads wore gorgeous dresses to the Hellfire Gala. Northstar’s husband, Kyle, who’s human, got to live on Krakoa. Then there’s Ms Marvel becoming a mutant and adapting to her multiple identities, which was a great addition–she’s an absolute natural as a mutant even though her powers haven’t appeared yet. Seeing Captain America step up and lead the mutant resistance, considering the Avengers have historically been absolutely awful to the X-Men. The political machinations of the Quiet Council and how mutants like Emma Frost managed to get the upper hand over their rivals was so thrilling! And nothing will surpass the shock of Orchis murdering all the mutants at the Hellfire Gala just as the new X-Men team was announced.

But it’s been downhill for a while. The focus on the Arakki, the overlong Dominion plotline that fizzled out, quite literally, with the return of Dark Phoenix. Sidelining characters I love, like Storm and Iceman. I had such high hopes for Krakoa and now I’m just happy it’s ending. I really felt like they’d lost their way. Now we’ve got the Fall of the X-Men that’s spread over some 13 series, and you have to read each issue from each series sequentially. It’s bonkers. I am so going to miss the hope and joy I thought Krakoa would bring. Not to me, my X-Men.

Mon: Dang, that sucks. I’m hoping for good things with the new series. But, you never know.

Mon: Anyway. So, I like listening to podcasts, but my podcast habits are pretty standard–I’m either listening to reviews or news. But I heard ads for the BBC and CBC podcast Hollywood Exiles, which is about the Red Scare in the US and J.Edgar Hoover’s apparent obsession with taking down Charlie Chaplin.

The podcast is hosted and narrated by Chaplin’s granddaughter Oona. Oona is an actress, so she has a great voice for podcasting–very soothing and measured. We, of course, know about the Red Scare and the witch-hunts for supposed communists, but it was really interesting to hear about the rise of Hoover and the impact of these trials on Hollywood.

Apparently, Hoover started a file on Charlie Chaplin–one that grew to over 1000 pages–as early as the 1920s. Chaplin, was, according to the podcast, one of the earliest targets of the Bureau for un-American activities. Chaplin was an immigrant from Britain–he never got American citizenship, and was openly ‘anti-authoritarian’, if you can call it that, in his work. That immediately drew a target on his back even though he wasn’t part of the Communist Party in the US–or so he said, anyway.

Listening to this podcast, it’s really heart-breaking. Chaplin was older, secure in his career, and rich. Life got tough, he upped and offed to England. But other writers and creators, they went through hell and back and lost their jobs. Some left the US, forever, others eventually returned. But they couldn’t return to their old jobs because they were put on the “Hollywood blacklist”. Man, that sucked to hear. The adult children of those exiles talking about how life changed for their families, was so sad. And over what? Fear-mongering.

And listening to it now, when the US is so divisive and so quick to judge and cancel–all the wrong people, of course–just made me so angry. It hits worse now that we’re in North America.

My one grouse with the podcast was that, because it’s hosted by Chaplin’s kin, Oona sort of brushes off Chaplin's less-than-stellar inclinations. The dude had a penchant for really young women, and even if the women were of consenting age, the power dynamic between Chaplin and anyone else is off. Oona Chaplin never really deals with that in the podcast. I think the producers at the BBC and CBC should have stepped in to contextualize the problematic side of Chaplin.

But this podcast is worth a listen to understand how and why Hollywood was so embroiled in the Red Scare.

Ron: I’ve been hearing a lot of talk about a mind-bendy thriller called Dark Matter on Apple TV+ so I decided to check it out. You and I loved Netflix’s Dark, and I adored the other sci-fi show called Dark Matter so why not? It’s based on a book by Blake Crouch and the premise is around alternate universes. I love alternate universes so I was very excited when I realised that was what the show was about.

My enthusiasm was waning partway through episode one, of what I believe is a 10-episode series. Joel Edgerton plays Jason Dessen, a science professor.

Mon: I’m sorry–that’s a name choice.

Ron: Hehe. His wife Daniela, played by Jennifer Connelly, works in an art gallery. The two of them gave up their dreams of being a scientist and an artist to raise their son. First up, how cliche, the dude is the scientist, the lady is an artist. Why don’t we swap it around and really make things interesting? Anyway!

Then they waste the first three episodes with this setup about Jason being kidnapped and left in an alternate reality. And he’s wondering who could’ve done it. When we already know the answer in episode one. Why would you spend three episodes with the characters not knowing something the audience has already been told?

Also, I tuned in to see alternate universes. Those really only appear from episode 4. And I don’t know if it’s a budget issue, but the characters rarely interact with the alternate universes. They’re mostly green screen. How very boring.

But the premise of the story is so dull. Jason loves his wife and wants to go back to her. That’s literally all there is to this man. Nothing else. Every single episode he keeps going on about how much he loves his wife. But I don’t understand what they’re on about because, honestly, Jason and Daniela’s life looks awful. There’s no excitement. They have no hobbies. The show has to keep telling us they love each other when it really looks like they’ve just settled for this existence.

Also, I cannot stand when characters make stupid decisions. We all do dumb things sometimes, sure. But nobody looks at a snowstorm and willingly runs into it. There’s this pandemic world they go to, and you will not believe it, Jason, after being told that the virus on this world is spread through fluids, he handles a vial that Daniela was holding after she was wiping her tears away. Dude, two seconds ago, they told you not to do that!

The show is really held back by the central romance between Jason and Daniela, because I just don’t see that love. Companionship, sure. Love? Whatever. Just show me the cool alternate worlds.

Mon: Yikes. Giving that a miss then.

Mon: On to some stuff we’ve been watching together.

I think a lot more people have heard about Madame Web the film, than actually seen it. It’s a running joke at this point–another Sony Marvel movie that bombed, haha.

We only recently caught up with it. I had no hopes for the film. I’d heard nothing but outrage at how bad it was, so my only expectation was to be mildly entertained.

But you know what, now that I’ve watched it, I’m really annoyed. I’m annoyed with people, especially the people who said don’t even bother watching this film because it’s dead on arrival. Like, if you’re a fan of superhero stuff, this film was worth one viewing at least.

Ron: This is the same nonsense that happened to The Marvels. People kept saying don’t watch it because it’s bad but since you and I got a preview screening, we were completely confused because we knew The Marvels was incredibly fun. I wish we’d got to give Madame Web a chance because it was also fun, in a very different way.

Mon: Madame Web is not great. The CGI is so janky, I can’t believe they let it out in public like that. And then there’s the first scene, which is atrociously acted. Yikes! But if you stick around, you get this really wholesome road trip, sorority sisters sticking together vibe. I kinda liked it. It was, I don’t know, adorable?

Ron: Here’s the thing though, the CGI was janky in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness and Guardians of the Galaxy 3 but people were still raving about those!

Mon: Yep.

None of the performances are great, but it’s like everyone had a bit and they stuck to it. The whole film does feel, a little, like everyone involved is on cruise control, but again, it didn’t make me hate it. It was a surprisingly pleasant experience to hang out with these characters and this film. I mean, I liked this film more than the second and third volumes of Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which isn’t saying much, because those were awful entries. But they made money and aren’t as openly mocked as this women-led and directed film. I wonder why. #sarcasm

Ron: I really liked the characters in Madame Web. Cassie Web is relatable. That scene where the kid hands her a drawing and she’s like, what do I do with this? Relatable! That entire subway section with her and the three teenagers and they’re sure this woman is kidnapping them, was hilarious. This movie was genuinely so funny. All the emotion that Guardians 3 was forcing on its script and actors, this film did it organically. I found myself so moved when Cassie had that revelation about her mother. Now I’ve just made myself sad again.

Mon: The characters were the best part of the film–truly surprising, but that’s what annoys me more about people being so mean about this film.

Mon: Two things about this film I’m not sure about–they made it like this was a one-and-done. These people will be superheroes, even though we don’t know how. We see them in costume, but it’s not in the present. That was a weird choice, and it seals the deal on there being no future for these characters.

Ron: There could easily have been a sequel that shows us how this group gets to that point. I mean, Venom seemed like a one and done film and it’s got two sequels!

Mon: The first Venom was so bad. How do people like it more than this film?

The other thing that weirded me out about Madame Web was the ending. I’m still trying to process what they were trying to say with that ending. This goes back to the film being on cruise control. A character needed to be a certain way to reflect their comic book persona, so even though they go through a life-altering experience, everyone’s super-chill about it because… that’s destiny? It was really weird. I wonder if that put critics off. I mean, this film does not hold up to criticism, but man, it does not deserve the hate. This felt like The Marvels all over again–though that film is objectively much better made and really fun.

Ron: I actually really liked the ending. Life-altering injuries are always treated like the end of the world in stories but I like that this film had this character accept it as part of her journey. A sequel could have explored it more.

Ron: With the crazy backlash against The Marvels, and before that, the vitriol against She-Hulk, which was such a fun, enjoyable, relatable show, and now Madame Web, Marvel’s not going to have any female superheroes headlining films or shows. These stories are hated on to the point where they lose box office sales and that’s it, we never get to see these characters again. But Starlord will return! I’m so angry.

Mon: Booooooooo!

Ron: Moving on, I guess. We didn’t catch Godzilla Minus One in theatres because going to the movies is expensive, you guys! We had to wait quite a while but eventually it arrived on Netflix Canada and we duly watched it. I was expecting standard monster fare. People screaming. Monsters destroying buildings. Lots of action and great VFX, because the film won the Oscar for VFX. But hoo boy, we got so much more!

Mon: Sitting down to watch Godzilla Minus One was worrying. I was certain this wouldn’t live up to the hype. Well, I was wrong. The film is riveting–but not because it’s about a monster called Godzilla, it’s because it’s a character study of people, and who the monsters really are. I know some people were annoyed that the film doesn’t touch on the atrocities that Japan committed during the war–there are other stories that deal with that, but I don’t know how this film would have included that as well. I mean, we all know there are no saints in a war; I don’t think this film tries to paint things any differently.

Ron: The movie does touch on the fact that Japan made some terrible choices in the second World War.

Mon: It does. Godzilla is merely a catalyst to tell a deeper story about governmental and systemic failure, the devastation of war, the real cost of the atomic bombs, and most importantly, the connections among people. This isn’t the first Godzilla film to tap into these themes, but it’s the first one that I’ve seen do this.

Ron: Godzilla was created in response to the nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. To have this movie set during and just after the second World War, drives home the devastation that those bombs caused.

Mon: The American Godzilla movies are always the same–monster fights. They’re so dull. And then you have this one, with these complicated characters who have so many layers to them. And the special effects. The VFX team won the Oscar for a reason. Godzilla looks so real! It’s scary.

Ron: True. Godzilla Minus One was so much more than the action. Protagonist Shikishima is a failed Kamikaze pilot. And then he’s one of only two survivors of Godzilla’s attack on a small island refuelling station. Not only that, but he returns home to find his civilian parents died in the war. It’s just survivor’s guilt upon survivor’s guilt for Shikishima! Ryunosuke Kamiki, who plays Shikishima, carries the film on his shoulders and he manages to portray the unimaginable burden of surviving so much really well. It’s a shame the international awards didn’t recognise his acting.

Mon: My only criticism is that I wish our leading lady Noriko had a larger role in the story, and that there were more ladies in the story. I know that Japan can be very patriarchal, and would have probably been even more conservative in the 1940s, but I wish they’d figured out a way to bring more women into the story.

Ron: 100%. Noriko is the amusing heart of the story. She’s the reason why Shikishima ends up with the world’s most bizarre but loving family unit. Noriko’s really the one who makes them work as a family. She had some incredible scenes and was played with a lot of sensitivity by Minami Hamabe. I was impressed by how much love Shikishima and Noriko had for each other without there being long monologues about it, just quiet moments and a shared look. And that’s down to the acting.

Mon: This film is worth a watch whether you like or care for Godzilla. It’s outstanding. Who knew you could get emotional during a Godzilla movie!

Mon: Everyone has been decrying the end of the world because The Fall Guy failed at the box office. Us plebs who refuse to go to the cinema all the time are the worst of humanity, don’t you know? How dare we not spend every dollar on passively absorbing every single film that comes out instead of trying to buy groceries and, you know, survive.

Mon: I’m sorry, did I go on a diatribe? I did. The way the online space made it out, it seemed like The Fall Guy was the best film ever to have been made. Listen, I was going to watch it anyway, just not in the theatre. We have to pick and choose when we spend money and where we go. We used to love going to the cinema every week, but that’s just not possible now–money isn’t even the biggest issue, for us at least, it’s that you have to be wise about which indoor spaces you want to be in.

Ron: When cinema tickets are $26 per person, before taxes, you’ve got to choose the groceries. I’m afraid The Fall Guy isn’t the kind of movie I’m spending that much money on. Sorry.

Mon: Anyway, on to the film. The Fall Guy is just meh. I was kinda disappointed, honestly. I was expecting something spectacular. This isn’t it. The opening scene? Yeah, sign me up. Awesome direction. That was, wow. And the way it ends, holy moly. That was incredible stuff.

Ron: That one-take opening scene was so well-executed and then you have that unexpected ending. I couldn’t wait to see what happened next.

Mon: But the film goes downhill after that. The pacing is off. It tries so hard to be funny, but it keeps falling flat. There’s some really slick directing, but the action scenes were badly paced.

I also didn’t like that Ryan Gosling’s the only one with any significant screen time. There’s this cast of amazing actors, Winston Duke, Stephanie Hsu, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and they don’t get their due. Taylor-Johnson has more to do than Duke and Hsu though.

Ron: Aaron Taylor-Johnson is so freaking funny and he absolutely owns this douchebag role. But he disappears for three quarters of the movie! And don’t get me started on Stephanie Hsu getting only two scenes.

Mon: And Emily Blunt is totally wasted in this. What the hell! Useless, tiresome role. So boring. At least Gosling can finally act though. I swear, till before Barbie, he was as wooden as a doll, and now he can actually emote.

Ron: Ken has changed Gosling so much. I actually understand the appeal now!

Mon: I have to strain to remember that I watched this film because it was so meh. I cannot believe the vitriol the average movie-goer faced because they didn’t support this film. People need to live a little.

Ron: Well, we’ve definitely been busy being entertained this year. Have you been watching or reading something you’d recommend? Let us know in the comments. Until next time.

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lexical-lushes · 1 year ago

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Widening Gulf

Everyone you care about lives at arm's length - past the cool glass of your monitor, tethered to you only by a hundred miles of copper cable and fiberoptic line. Digital simulacra.

Cooped up in your tiny room, your computer gives you a window into the rest of the world, a way to experience it without letting it touch you. A way to socialize without ever having to leave your shell.

You can barely function, after all. It's all so much without the distance.

Over the years, you drift between communities as friends move on and your darker moods leave bridges burned. A few figures stick around through it all - though you find they slowly fade into the background the more you get used to their presence, becoming dull rock effigies.

But despite it all, despite the distance and listless wandering through ephemeral digital landscapes and the cold glass barrier you keep behind, you find companionship.

Friends.

Lovers.

You find people willing to reach through the vast web of the internet to press their hands against the inside of your screen.

It's… alien, at first. Imposing.

You don't know how to be someone's girlfriend, you plead.

They promise to teach you. You trust them.

And god… you didn't know how badly you needed it, how badly your isolation hurt.

It's… cozy. Confusing, sometimes. A whirlwind of new experiences, your lovers whispering encouragement to you, bouying you up, building the confidence in yourself you always lacked.

…but it doesn't last.

You feel it growing, slowly, a gulf between you. You're so hesitant, so unwilling to raise your voice to ask to join in.

You watch them together, always from behind the safety of your screen.

They're bright and enthusiastic in calls. They visit one another.

…they're good together.

When they start talking about moving in together, you know you can't compete.

The gulf grows.

And it grows.

You spend more nights crying, clutching your singular sad plush.

You wouldn't even know you felt lonely if they hadn't shown you what having something felt like.

Sometimes they reach out, say they miss you, that they're worried about you.

You brush it off. You tell them you've just not been feeling well.

They must buy it, because they stop asking.

You follow their move, dimly.

They talk online less and less. No more posts, no more calls, no more beautiful selfies.

You watch as another community - your community - dries up and leaves you alone again. More alone than you've ever been before.

…and then you get a message.

The last time she spoke to you was months ago by the timestamps, but there it is, a new message bright with the monitor's glow.

"We miss you. We know how isolated you feel. We have a way to bring you home to us, if you'll still trust us."

You don't answer right away.

So many feelings fight for dominance in your heart and in your head - anger, resentment, despair, hesitation… hope.

They abandoned you.

…you abandoned them.

But maybe it doesn't have to end that way.

The instructions that follow seem like a joke, but you're too desperate to care.

You choose to trust them.

Your next expedition into the oppressive Realness of the world returns with the supplies they told you that you'd need.

A round mirror, hung on the middle of your wall.

You break it as instructed, then paint over it with white until you can hardly see the cracks.

Your own personal Pale Moon, they tell you. Whatever that means.

The rest of the paint coats your room, applied layer after layer on wall and floor and furniture like a creeping, pure-white void until it's half-consumed your tiny world.

Candles. A circle in black around the mirror, carefully copied glyphs ringing its circumference.

"Don't fret about them being exact, love. Just do your best. She knows what you intend."

You spend hours getting them perfect anyway.

When your shrine is finished after so many sleepless nights, you hesitate for just a moment before you slice your hand open and smear your blood in a circle above the mirror and its glyphs.

It stands out so vibrantly against the white.

You almost cry as you wait for something to happen. You desperately hope this wasn't some sick prank, that it's real.

Then the Pale Moon begins to bleed.

Thin trickles of black ichor seep from between its fractures, slowly at first, then faster, thicker, tracing streams and rivulets down your wall, pooling on the white white floor…

Reaching towards your feet.

You try to dance away in shock but the black liquid catches you, clings to you, slips up your leg cool and wet and flowing. You start to hyperventilate, flailing as it begins to coat you like a second skin.

Like a glistening tide it wraps around your every curve and crevice, pours down your throat to drown the singular scream you attempt to let loose.

It sinks into your very essence.

You feel yourself dissolving.

You think of your lovers.

You let go.

When oblivion fades and you drift back to consciousness, your slow rise from the floor sloughs off what's left of your old body, nothing but a bleached, papery husk.

All that's left is shimmering, flowing red, and you wonder at what you've become.

Your eye catches the painted mirror upon the wall, your Pale Moon.

It's red now, liquid and pulsing with the same phantom heartbeat you are.

Tentatively, you reach out and touch a frond to it… and your loves reach right back out in return.

They've missed you.

They're so sorry it took this long.

They're so sorry they let you feel alone.

They're here now.

You're here.

You only need to join them.

…and so you do.

#lushposting #empty spaces

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errantabbot · 1 year ago

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On Augustine, Rahner, Nietzsche, (Post)Modernity, and the Perennial Mystical Impulse Common to Human Physiology

St. Augustine once wrote “That which is now called the Christian religion existed among the ancients, and never did not exist,” and while no doubt his intention was to interpret the Christian story as one (specifically) playing out through all of time in an ongoing dance with the divine, his statement is more generically true than he probably intended.

Beyond Augustine, as society progressed, now far fetched notions like “prisca theologia” and the “perennial philosophy” emerged as attempts to understand the broader and broader global cultural concepts emerging that would ultimately culminate in the 17th century enlightenment perspectives that paved the way for Nietzsche’s pronouncements on the “death of God,” concretizing the ushering in of modernity.

In some real sense, the singularly real Gods of antiquity have needed to die in order for us to actually meet them on the field of religion as it has actually existed across time and place, in varied cultures and theological schemas, among “the ancients,” and the (post) moderns alike.

Religion is a natural extension of the human psyche. The great mystery of being, and the appendant primal wound thereof (that is, of being alive and conscious that we will some day cease to be, at least as we understand being), demands to be engaged. This engagement has certainly “never not existed.”

In the 1960’s the Roman Catholic Church, dialoguing with modernity in Vatican II, was forced to grapple with the reality that (in “Nostra Aetate”) every culture throughout all of time has realized an abundance of things both “true and holy” outside of the developmental stream of Christianity, that the church cannot reject. It is in this same sense that Christianity has “always existed,” as an outgrowth of the mystical impulse that seems to lie in wait at the heart of human consciousness.

Almost simultaneously (with Vatican II), the Jesuit priest and enduringly esteemed theologian Karl Rahner wrote that “the Christian of the future will either be a mystic or will not exist at all." While Rahner was no doubt speaking out toward the need for people of faith to connect experientially with the divine outside of the dry prescriptions of orthodoxy engaged only in mind, even when accented with the rote miming of corporate orthopraxis, his observation (like St. Augustine’s) is more broadly applicable to the (post) modern seeker.

Mysticism is ultimately wrapped up in contemplation and surrender. It is the primordial act that underpins all forms of worship, that so often becomes obscured by later interpretations atop its experience. Mysticism is best understood as a natively universal human activity, and then through a multicultural lens. Arguably, in the profoundly interconnected web of 21st century life, there is no other way to go about it.

So what does this all mean? It means that Christianity, like all religions, is an outgrowth of human physiology, that religion (both refined and newly raw) is an inevitability in human being and culture. It means that the time of religious schemas capable of being engaged as exclusively and uniquely true has come and gone, and that swimming in the waters of Christianity (or any other religion) is a choice that, to be sustainable, must be engaged through a species-spanning, intercultural lens. And, it means that the integrous engagement of Christianity (and any other religion) is to be found in the universal mystical practices of contemplation and surrender, to and of reality as it is.

~Sunyananda

#zen #enlightenment #awakening #spirituality #Christian #Christ #spiritual #god #gods #mystical #mysticism #nietzsche #karl rahner #god is dead #contemplative #contemplation #reality

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piscadilly · 2 years ago

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can i call you something? syssy, perhaps? /j

long ass rebuttal with the original text included for references and transparencies sake. @justanothersyscourse

So apparently none of these things are up for debate because no one can reblog or comment

Nice

[I didn't tag my post as anything because I very specifically did not want any input, whether or not people agree with me. I do not like to engage in discourse outside of when I have something to actually say or on impulse (which has been said and can be found on my pinned post on my blog). I do not owe people debate, my time nor energy, nor my spoons. this includes you.]

@/amaranthis

Go ahead, "make an example out of me," but only after I make one of you.

[cringe.]

First, I swear to god, the only ones making #miserablyDID a thing are people like you. What people like me are trying to tell people like you is that dysfunction is a fluctuating label, and the DSM entry for DID explains that dysfunction can be minimal to non-existent and you can still be disordered, and that's okay.

[as I said in my post that you are ""referencing"" from is that if you do not think what I said happens, happens ever, then you have not seen what I have, and I hope you never do. I have known I was a system since I was 12 years old and I have been both on the pro-endo camp, and the critical/neutral camp of them (as I am currently, the latter.) I have seen a ton of shit both from the Astraea's web truthers and the people I call did elitists, who actually do not believe that you can be functional as a system unless you stop being one by achieving final fusion. and that any variation from their own personal experiences of being a system puts into question their validity at all. they also believe that you HAVE to have amnesia and blackouts or you are faking. you cannot know you are a system because it is a covert disorder or you are faking. you cannot have healthy and consistent communication with your alters, or you are faking. these are all things I have seen people around me online say over the years. perhaps you should do your own research?]

Disordered isn't a bad word and it's not synonymous with dysfunction, and the DSM explains why and how. You just don't want to listen and instead continue to spread the idea that you have be miserable and struggling every day if you're disordered. As if people don't live fulfilling, happy lives with all kinds of disorders.

[i'll take things I never said nor implied for 500 alex. I desperately want you to learn and practice reading comprehension and critical thinking skills because you are sorely lacking that here. I specifically pointed out ONE definition that did elitists use to mean disordered, I never said I personally believe in that, nor that everybody does. I know of other anti-endo or endo-neutral people that I am either friends with or have an acquaintance with that do not think like that. lol.]

No, DID is definitely the exception, right?

You ignore that the DSM allows for someone to reach final fusion and still have DID based on their ability to split later in life.

[the people I am calling did elitists disagree with that idea and will not hesitate to actually say so, because to them final fusion means you no longer have OSDDID, meaning you are no longer disordered.]

You ignore that the DSM explains that a disorder doesn't mean need for treatment, and you silence and hide voices trying to explain that under the guise of protecting endogenics from "hate", meanwhile, the misinformation you're pushing is actively harmful to DID systems.

[again, shit I never said, thought, or intended. you are also CATACLYSMICALLY missing the entire point of my post and that it was that harassing endogenics is not helping traumagenics! when people harass endogenics around where i can see it, I do not feel more validated or safer. I feel uncomfortable and worried because what's to stop them from going further and creating abstract rules on how to be a system, that I may or may not actually fit into, thus in turn causing them to fakeclaim ME as well? fakeclaiming traumagenics is harmful to traumagenics. endogenics can shrug that shit off if they're serious about going around being a system, because that's just par for the course of the kind of shit they get. majority of traumagenics are not actively faking so to accuse them of such is an act of violence against them. sorry you cannot grasp that concept.]

You ignore when we explain that the DSM states that you can be trans without dysphoria, and that in most cases, dysfunction in that case comes from failures on the side of medical practitioners and deniers. Transmeds go against the DSM and current research, and comparing syscourse to that is hugely dismissive of the fight trans people have fought.

[SHIT I NEVER SAID AND THIS IS WHY I SAID YOU WERE INSINUATING I WAS A TRANSMED. was it because I used the term transtrender? was it that? i was hoping that what i said came off as satire-esque and that i genuinely didn't think like that, because i DON'T and it's EXTREMELY obvious when you take a glance at my pinned post. i am mogai, nonbinary, and trans myself and i did not make the comparison lightly, and it is well within my right to do so. i also, in case you missed it, explicitly said that i do not agree with the usage of the terms sysmed or traumascum, but i can understand why and how they might have gotten started and why they are still used by some people.]

In terms of DID/OSDD, the DSM explains that it IS a trauma-based disorder, but no one bothers to read beyond the criteria (which also mentions trauma? The and/or doesn't mean trauma is optional, but go off I guess). Sysmeds support the DSM and current research.

[so are you against or for the term sysmed then? also please take note of your own language here, Current Research. we do not fully understand the brain, once again, and that includes how trauma affects it and that also includes dissociative and trauma based disorders. we have an IDEA, not a full understanding. i am eager to read about groundbreaking ideas and research into the phenomenon of being plural, both from a traumagenic and endogenic viewpoint because i value knowledge over what others may think exists or not. i'm not a sheep that follows the herd, i formulate my opinions based on what is available to me in the form of facts or peer reviewed opinions, and my own experiences, and my ability to have common sense and critical thought. also why are you saying "go off i guess" like what part of anything i said or am saying is implying that did/osdd are not trauma based. are you conflating me for some other shmuck i saw briefly on your blog? that person and i are not the same person. i do not subscribe or have a rhetoric outside of wanting people to shut the fuck up about how endos are singlehandedly ruining the lives and community of traumagenics.. you guys sound so fucking silly to me honestly. that and stop fucking fakeclaiming systems. period.]

The fight isn't comparable, and you're basically denying science and history at this point in favour of an argument that doesn't actually apply.

[you are lying abt what i said and believe in. would be funny if i wasn't so fucking exhausted.]

You ignore the very real damage that IFS has done to the treatment of DID/OSDD, and you ignore our concerns when we say we see the same things coming with endogenics if the language used isn't changed and the line clearly separated.

[i have like, zero idea about what IFS is or what it means because, in case you didn't read between the lines, i stay out of the way of the greater community because you guys are exhausting. i don't like syscourse. i do not like talking about syscourse, and i especially do not want people to fakeclaim me for some extremely arbitrary reason, like me having good communication with my alters, or me being frontstuck, or me being a little/mid ageslider when i am both fronstuck, AND the shell/main fronter, or, fuck, i dunno. spin a wheel, dude! I've been called fake in the past for all sorts of reasons, i cant even remember them all tbh.]

You ignore that we have answers to all of those questions you asked in the tags. We know why and how the cut off age works, and how autism can increase that age to about 12. From the writers of the DSM.

[MY understanding was that it was just a rule because of the CURRENT understanding of the brain and how it works when people age, also that's great to know because about a year ago when i went looking for stuff related to autism and did/osdd there was basically nothing for it. that's great actually thank you for informing me. :) ]

Image In b4 hypothesized, because we can see it now, and the DSM 5 TR has been updated to reflect this new understanding.

[i cannot see the image because of the format of the text editor i am using but i'll look at some point soon.]

You ignore that we already understand how and why those with DID have alters and how trauma plays into that.

[no, not ignoring, issuing a challenge and a call for new information that either solidly confirms or puts into question stuff that's already known. again, i value knowledge. i like to know things, especially related to psychology. it's a SPIN. i am not in a position to be able to conduct my own research and talk about my own findings because i am not in a psychology course at this point in time. but i definitely want to be able to fully understand the brain, the mind, and the related mechanisms, both from a spiritual and scientific point. am i weird for that? maybe.]

You ignore that this means that: those biomarkers, or injuries = DID/OSDD, and that if someone is apparently a system without those injuries, it is completely, 100% different. How can it not be? Those injuries affect every aspect of our lives-- the way we retain, recall, and manage memories and information, our emotional reactions to things. Someone without them isn't going to understand it, but people like you demonize people like me for pointing that out, despite the fact that it's kind of obvious when you think about it.

[i am assuming biomarkers is related to the image i can't see at this exact moment. no, again, not ignoring. i do not spend every waking hour studying did/osdd and committing everything to memory. my mind does not work that way and it sounds tiresome. i look things up when my interest is piqued. like now when i am dealing with you. call me lazy if you want, idk. i do things the way i do things because again, i am a spoonie. i do not demonize you for pointing it out, in fact part of my original post was also about how educating endos and people new to being a system is infinitely more helpful and meaningful than just gatekeeping them and directing vitriol to them. please do reread my post a few times, i find it may help.]

You ignore that the DSM is quite clear about what kind of cultural experiences are excluded and why and how, and it's not for teens on tumblr, and saying it is, is denying the long, hard fight to keep spiritual and religious practices out of the DSM, because they're not the same things.

[personally i find it extremely weird how you are discounting endogenics, pro-endos, and endo-neutrals to only being teens on tumblr and that there aren't any on other sites, irl, or that some of these people may also be adults of varying ages. i never mentioned spirituality anywhere in my post that i know of, as that wasn't the cusp of the matter i was speaking on. if i did then i forgot, so my bad! but i do think i didn't. that is a whole 'nother can of worms that i do not want to talk about because my opinions on the matter are conflicting and complicated.]

We already have the answers, you just don't like them, and you just proved on this post that you don't actually care about education, you care about silencing people who disagree and try to point out that you're misreading and misunderstanding things.

[where the fuck am i silencing anybody? i am not forcing you or anybody else to agree with me and stop harassment of people, both endogenic and traumagenic (who get caught in the crossfire, like i have been by you) i am just inviting people to maybe rethink the way they approach shit and go for education or ignoring them instead of any harassment or bullying. stop using buzzwords lol.]

my text now:

anyway, you in fact did NOT know i was prof dx'd until i said so to you, all it says on my blog is that i have did/am traumagenic, you could've assumed i was lying or that it was a self dx. i can tell by your language in this post that you suspected i was an endogenic by the way you said "people like you" and "people like me"

we are the same. we are both traumagenic systems. you do not have to backpedal and insist you knew all along and that i was wrong in my skimming and understanding of what you said prior, you can admit that you were wrong about something. like i did when i mentioned the cut off age in relation to being autistic not being known. i didn't actually know they figured it out! so again, thanks for informing me. if you have a link to the study(ies) on it i'd love to receive it.

#systems dont look #in case u want to postblock/tagblock this #IM NOT TAGGING THIS OUTRIGHT AS WHAT IT IS BC I DONT WAN TO INVITE MORE PEOPLE TO ENGAGE WITH ME im running out of spoons

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